Man builds sleeping box to save money, regrets making it so small

A man has built (and now lives in) a box in his friend's lounge in order to save money.

Peter Berkowitz has created a 28 square foot (or in other words, "fricking tiny") bedroom box in his friend's lounge in order to save money on rent.

Peter, an illustrator living in San Fransisco, realised he couldn't afford the extortionate rent in his areas and took the decision to build himself a "bedroom pod" out of wood, a plan which his new housemates were more than on board with.

"If I had to make it again, I would make it taller"

Peter began construction on his tiny one-bed box three weeks ago, documenting the build on his website. He explained how he was forced to make the pod because of how expensive rent was, but found the place surprisingly cosy:

"People are typically surprised that I would want to live in a pod, but I think they tend to underestimate how pleasant a pod can be if it’s designed smartly. It’s the cosiest bedroom I’ve ever had."

"If I had to make it again, I would make it taller," he admitted to NBC, though.

Peter, 25, took the extreme method of building himself a cupboard to live in after realising he couldn't afford San Fransisco's "absurdly high" housing prices. Rent in the city is roughly equivalent to prices in central London, at around £2,400 ($3096) for a one bed flat.

Peter pays just £360 ($500) for his cupboard in his friends' house, which is located just a short walk away from the beach. Better yet, he even has his own desk space in his cubby hole.

But the main appeal for Peter is how much he's saving through living here.

"What I kind of enjoy about it is how absurdly low my rent is," he told NBC.

"Step into my office. Pull up a bed." The pod also includes fairy lights to read by, a book shelf and mini fan, and a cushioned headboard, which can also be used as storage space.

You'd be forgiven for thinking Peter was inspired by Harry Potter and the Dursleys to build his sleeping cupboard, but Peter says it was Japanese hotels with sleeping booths that inspired the design.

"They are very nice to me. I’m allowed in the kitchen and living room."

Far from being an annoyance, Peter says it's fine living in the lounge of his friends' house.

"They are very nice to me," he said "I’m allowed in the kitchen and living room. It’s really like adding an extra bedroom to the apartment."

There are four other people living in the apartment, all using conventional bedrooms (like chumps) rather than saving hundreds of dollars a month by living in a wooden box.

Peter gives a tour of his home.

"They could help a lot of people"

Peter believes that pods could save other people a lot of money, and absurdly high rent, though he admits it isn't the most sensible solution for everybody:

"Yes, living in a pod is silly. But the silliness is endemic to San Francisco's absurdly high housing prices - the pod is just a solution that works for me." He wrote.

"Many people have apartments with the space/ capacity to house another person but choose not to because there isn't an attractive way to do so. Temporary partitions offer poor privacy, especially in terms of sound. They also tend to ruin whatever room they're in - you're less likely to use your living room if it doubles as a bedroom."

"I think pods can provide a needed fix here. Yes the living room housing my pod is smaller - but it's by no means ruined."

"If pods can provide an attractive way to add a bedroom to an apartment, I think they could help a lot of people out."

The Boring Bit

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